Chapter 1: Arrival & First Encounters
All right, before we get started, I would like to make a few points: first off, I don't know everything about the Celts, partially because we don't know much about these people. Why? Because the bastards didn't bother to write their shit down! And the second reason because I'm still researching them. There might be some things I don't know, but I will try to make things as accurate as possible. I will also be using the names of the Gundam characters in Latin (for the Romans) but will use the original names for the Gundam pilots. In other words, it looks like this:
Milliardo Peacecraft=Mille Pacisprofessio.
Heero Yuy=…Heero Yuy. Can't really find a translator for a language THAT VERY FEW PEOPLE KNOW!!! Although I will most likely use Welsh or Breton for the Celtic languages.
Note: Gundam Wing and all related characters and materials are property of Bandai entertainment and Sunrise.
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The men of the VI Century of the IX Legio Hispania (Ninth Hispanic Legion) in the Roman province of Britannia were carrying with them a precious cargo. It was a treasure. No, it was not gold. Not all treasure is money. It was not food. The cargo was the sister of their commanding officer, Centurion Mille Pacisprofessio [1], who was the friend of the Legion's commander, Tredecim [2] Kushrenada. It was the year 50 AD [3] and Britannia had been a Roman province for seven years after Vespasian invaded the island in 43 AD. The girl's name was Relena. Relena Pacisprofessio [4] Her and Mille's father was a wealthy nobleman in Rome, and he had sent her to Britannia, much to her immense chagrin.
--
Flashback
"Britannia?" Cried Relena at her father.
"I'm sorry, my dear, but it's the only place I can send you while your mother and I are away in Trier, I'm sorry, but it's the only way."
"But Britannia is cold, and lifeless! And you heard about those barbarians roaming the countryside, it's a mess!"
"Relena, you're going to Britannia, and that's final. Mille will take care of you."
"I can take care of myself, father."
"Yes, I know you can. And you have proven that before. But because of the enemies I made in the Senate, I'm not comfortable with you staying here in Rome, alone."
Relena sighed, knowing that she had lost the battle. She would go to Britannia to see her brother. "I understand. I will get ready as soon as possible."
"That's my girl. I'll get an escort ready for you soon enough."
--
Relena passed through the continent, from the Italian peninsula to the Alps and beyond. Along the way, she saw along the road leading out of Rome men, women and children being crucified. And believe me, it is not a nice way to die. To describe would be too much. They passed through Gaul without incident, despite rumors of natives who hated the Romans. She guessed it was the security she had as a Roman noblewoman. As she passed through the countryside, she saw the people who lived there. In a sense, she pitied them, because they would never know the glory of Rome. But at the same time, she felt that the Roman authorities could have done better for these people.
The crossing of what is now the English Channel was relatively easy. Instead of the high winds that they feared, they received calm seas for the crossing from the continent to Britannia. They felt that Neptune must have been watching out for them on this journey, and they were sure to thank him once they got to Britannia.
End flashback
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The IX Legio Hispana was headquartered in Londinium, modern-day London [5]. The reunion between Relena and her brother was a little awkward, considering they hadn't seen each other in years.
"Relena, it's so good to see you." Said Mille as he greeted his sister. Relena took one look at him and could barely tell he was her brother.
"Um, hello, Mille." She replied. "How have you been these past five years?"
"Things have been well. Although we have been having trouble with the British natives who don't seem to be happy about the fact that we are bringing civilization to them. Our biggest fear is if they unite under one leader. However, because they're all fragmented into tribal groups, those Barbarians will never defeat our armies." Relena stayed silent at her brother's words. Sure, she and her brother were proud Romans, but her brother's words bothered her.
"I'm fine. In case you didn't know, father went to Gallia Belgica. I'm not sure how long he'll be there, but I'm here until father returns to Rome and recalls me… which could be a while."
"Well until then, make yourself at home here in Londinium, I found a place for you to stay while you're here." Relena smiled at her brother, and said,
"Thanks, Mille."
--
Relena felt that Londinium was Rome in the north, partially because of the large number of Romans in the city. However, the city was only a size of 350 acres around now. Mille had gotten her an apartment on the Thames (as we know it today) and the view was spectacular. She was beginning to think that maybe Britannia wasn't so bad after all, but she did hear about the terrible winter weather (compared to Italy) that Britain went through. Of course right now, she didn't know that in about 10 years, the city would be burned to the ground by Boudica and her Celtic rebellion… but that's for another time.
Anyway, Relena was out around the town on the third day after she arrived when she noticed a strange young man about her age walking around the city. He wasn't dressed like any of the Romans, but more like the Celtic natives that inhabited the countryside of the island. The young man had brown hair, fair skin, and deep Prussian blue eyes. Not deep in terms of the color, but deep in another way. The young man wasn't acting like most of the Celts in Londinium, who were mostly minding their own business, but he seemed to be surveying the area. Like he was spying. However, she ignored him for now and went on with her day.
--
"Hello, Miss Relena, did you enjoy your day?" Asked Lucrezia Novem[6], Mille's lover.
"It was enjoyable. I did see one of the natives. He didn't look very happy, though."
"The Celts are upset that we invaded their lands, apparently. They also don't have very good things to say about Mille or Tredecim, either. They've suffered defeat after defeat. Except for one tribe."
"One?"
"They're probably part of the Cantiaci or the Trinovantes people. They're fierce fighters on the battlefield, enough that many of our soldiers run from them because they're so frightening. We call them the Gundami [7]. We've had a few problems, but mostly we've had peace with them, but it's been fragile. Recently, a Century attacked a group of them. Their leader was angered and swore revenge."
"Why would a Century attack them?"
"They were probably bored. At times, there isn't much to do around here, unlike in Rome." Novem stopped and took a sip of her drink.
"Why else would they be mad, though?"
"I've recently heard among some of the soldiers that the Celts were hoping to target Mille and Tredecim for some reason. I'm not exactly sure what they have against the two, but we can't be too careful around here. There have been some raids by several tribes, but a few have made peace with Rome. One of them is the Iceni, even though they did rise against Rome three years ago, they've kept their independence from Rome. But their king Prasutagus and his queen Boudica are allies of Rome, so we don't expect any trouble from them [8]".
"I wonder if there's the possibility that the tribes might unite."
"They're just savages." Said Lucrezia. Relena looked at her with a disappointed look on her face.
"Please don't call them savages. What if they're not?"
"They don't write anything down, they're a tribal people, they love the sting of battle, they don't live like Romans. What else do you think they are?"
"I just don't want people to say that. Ignorance of someone's culture could lead to trouble." Lucrezia sighed, knowing that Relena, despite being naïve, had a good heart.
--
Two nights later, Relena was awoken by sounds coming from outside the apartment. Wondering what it was, Relena walked to her balcony. What she saw shocked her. One tenth of Londinium was on fire. The soldiers were trying to put out the fire using the waters of the Thames to put the fire out. Although it appeared the "Vigils", as I hear they are called [9] had the situation under control, Relena felt as though she had to do something. She dressed in her toga and ran out the door to the protests of the slave man inside. She made her way to the area of the fire, and that's when she saw him—again--the same Celt that she had seen some days ago. Except now he was wearing blue face paint (woad) that made him look more dangerous and he was riding a horse.
The young man stopped his horse in front of her. The two stared at each other for a second before he drew his sword.
"Ganfuoch 'm gwynebu?" He said in his native tongue [10]. The Celt drew his sword and pointed it at her. "Darfod, Rhufeiniad [11]!" Relena feared for her life, but suddenly the Celt took off. She stood there for a second before getting her own horse from the stable. She did not have to look far for him, since Roman soldiers had stalled him. However, he had somehow managed to kill them from his horse. After dispatching them, he took off, escaping into the British night. Whatever possessed her to do so, even she did not understand, but she decided to follow him.
"Exspecto, subsisto!" [12] She yelled in Latin. She urged her horse on and took off in hot pursuit of the Celt.
It didn't take long for daylight to break over Britannia. Relena was a good distance from Londinium by the time they reached a wooded area. Apparently, the Celt felt as though he had to stop and possibly mock her. "Ach 'n flin, Rhufeiniad [13]?" He asked.
"Commodo, subsisto is iam. Permissum nos for is [14]!" She yelled back in Latin. The Celt simply rode off again. Relena sighed in exasperation and followed him. Unfortunately, she didn't get far, because her horse suddenly began to act wildly, making it difficult for her to keep him under control. She pulled the reins hard several times before the horse threw her off, and she landed on the ground with a 'THUD', hitting her head pretty hard. Due to the force of the hit, she blacked out, the last images being the Celt rushing over to her.
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Well, what did you think? Was it interesting? Send me a review, please, I need to know how you feel about this and I'll get the second chapter up ASAP.
Animadverto vos laxus!
Notes and translations:
[1] Millairdo Peacecraft translated into Latin; Pacis=peace, profession=craft [where do you think they got the words professor or profession from?]
[2] Treize
[3] As we now know it
[4] Relena Peacecraft, again, in Latin
[5] Where the hell do you think they got the name "London" from?
[6] Noin
[7] I know it's not Celtic, but I gotta use something!
[8] Boy, she had no idea what the Iceni would do in 10 or 11 years!
[9] I could be wrong
[10] He's actually speaking an ancient Brythonic language, but because I'm too damn lazy to learn Breton and the fact that the language he's actually speaking is dead as a fucking doornail, I'm using Welsh. By the way, he said, "Did you see my face?"
[11] "Die, Roman!"
[12] "Wait, stop!"
[13] "Are you tired, Roman?"
[14] "Please, stop this now! Let us talk about this!"